Riya had always been a diligent software developer, passionate about problem-solving. When she was assigned to a complex project involving backend optimizations, she was eager to prove herself. For weeks, she worked tirelessly, debugging, testing, and rewriting chunks of code. Yet, every time she fixed one issue, another surfaced.

Her manager rarely acknowledged her efforts, only commenting when something wasn’t working. Unlike the designers and front-end developers, who received instant praise for their visually appealing work, Riya’s contributions remained invisible. Frustration crept in.

One evening, after yet another 10-hour workday, she stared at her screen, watching as her latest fix failed yet again. She sighed, leaned back, and thought, What’s the point? No one seemed to notice how much effort she was putting in. She considered requesting a transfer to a more “visible” role—one where she’d actually receive recognition.

A week later, a senior engineer reviewed her work and implemented her optimizations. To Riya’s surprise, the system’s speed improved significantly, reducing processing time by 40%. The leadership team praised the update in a company-wide email—but credited it as a “team effort.” While the results were finally visible, her personal sense of accomplishment had long faded.

This illustrates the Sisyphus Effect—when continuous effort without visible results leads to demotivation and abandonment. Just like Sisyphus endlessly rolling his boulder uphill, Riya’s unseen contributions made her feel like her work had no meaning. Many people disengage from tasks when they don’t see tangible progress, even if success is just around the corner.